Detroit Lions: A blueprint for a Super Bowl run this season
By J.D. Laker
I believe this is the blueprint of how the 2017 Detroit Lions can overcome the odds and reach Super Bowl 52 this season.
Pack your Honolulu blue snow pants, your ice fishing gear, and turn the volume all the way up on Prince’s Purple Rain because the Detroit Lions are going to the Super Bowl LII in Minne-Sota!! Dontcha know!
Detroit would finally make it to the Super Bowl during a year it’s being held in Minnesota (nothing against Minnesota). I’m sure the new stadium is lovely, but I’ve seen enough Fargo to know Minnesota in February is a miserable frozen wasteland.
So even though Lions fans would happily endure the frostbitten experience of a Minnesota Super Bowl, the odds on them ending their Super Bowl drought in 2017 are exceptionally long.
But as a wise man once said, “that’s why they play the games!” Here’s a breakdown of how it can be done:
Matthew Stafford channels his inner Matt Ryan:
No one was giving the Atlanta Falcons much of a shot at making a Super Bowl before last season, but Matty Ice took his game to another level, won the MVP, and put the team on his back en route to a surprising Super Bowl run.
As I’ve stated in some of my previous articles, Stafford has all the tools and this could be the season he puts it all together a la Matt Ryan. If Stafford steps up, he could get hot and carry this team to its first Super Bowl.
Offensive line solidifies itself as one of the best units in football: Taylor Decker returns to 100% health by Thanksgiving, shows no signs of a sophomore slump, and combines with Ricky Wagner to create a dominant bookend tackle combo Lions fans have yearned for for years.
Heroes emerge on the defensive line: Ziggy Ansah returns to Pro Bowl form and gets his sack numbers up significantly from last season. An unknown, like Kerry Hyder last year, emerges into a stud opposite Ansah. A’Shawn Robinson continues his development into one of the better defensive tackles in the league.
Boom. All of a sudden the defensive line becomes a surprisingly effective unit.
Big hitter: Miles Killebrew solidifies himself as a true playmaker in the secondary and becomes a terror for opposing offenses. Detroit needs some young players to establish themselves on the defensive side of the ball in order to have success.
Legitimate running game: Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick, and company all stay healthy to combine for over 1,000 yards rushing and make significant contributions in the passing game.
Big play tight end: Eric Ebron transforms into Eric “LeBron” and finally breaks out as a consistent weapon in the passing game. Ebron has always had the innate athletic ability to become a matchup nightmare in this league, but this year he becomes a premiere red zone and deep ball threat.
Pretty much everything would need to go right for Detroit to make it to Super Bowl 52. But, if all these things come to fruition the Lions could easily win double digit games, take the NFC North, get on a roll in the postseason, and do the unthinkable: bring the Lombardi Trophy to Detroit. It could happen! You gotta believe!
Next: Detroit Lions - Bold predictions for 2017
Unfortunately, the Detroit Lions will more than likely win eight or nine games, miss the playoffs, and I will put this article in a wood chipper Fargo-style.